January 10, 2005

South Pacific Expedition, Cholera Vaccine Studies, New Classes and Events Part of Boise State in 2005

Boise State student Ander Sundell operates a 'Tectonic Squeezebox,' an interactive exhibit that is being used in introductory geology labs as part of an effort to provide hands-on learning opportunities for students. Sundell, now a graduate student in geology, designed the squeezebox as his senior project. click here to see the image full size A new semester begins today at Boise State University, and with it comes new classes, new research projects, new events and new outreach efforts. Here is a look at just some of what’s happening in 2005 at Idaho’s largest university:          NEW BIOLOGY PROFESSOR WORKS TOWARD DEVELOPMENT OF CHOLERA VACCINE: In the wake of south Asia’s tsunami disaster, concerns are growing that millions of people across the region could be at grave risk for diseases such as cholera unless immediate action is taken to provide clean water. At Boise State, biology professor Juliette Tinker is conducting research that could someday aid in the development of vaccines to combat not only cholera, but other infectious diseases as well.    Tinker, a pathogenic microbiologist who joined the university’s faculty this semester, is studying a toxin produced by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae, which is the agent of the disease cholera. The unique properties of this toxin, as well as those of a toxin produced by the bacterium E.coli, make these proteins potential components in vaccines, since they stimulate specific immune responses.   Tinker’s research is part of the university’s fast-growing biomedical research programs. Boise State researchers are currently conducting studies involving Alzheimer’s disease, breast cancer, cartilage, side effects of chemotherapeutic drugs, and other areas.   NEW OBSERVATORY TO STUDY GAMMA RAY BURSTS:  This spring, the foundation will be poured and construction will begin on an astronomical observatory near Challis, Idaho as part of a research project headed by Boise State physics professor Daryl Macomb. The observatory will house a specialized 16-inch optical telescope that will be used to track gamma ray bursts — brief bright flashes of energetic radiation that scientists believe are associated with black holes and other exotic objects in the night sky. When completed in June, the observatory will be the only one in Idaho used as a research facility. A variety of outreach programs for Idaho high school students and teachers are also planned as part of the project   According to Macomb, a major challenge in studying bursts is that the sources of radiation aren’t predictable and fade very quickly once they occur. To address that issue, the observatory will use a robotic telescope that will automatically zoom into position after receiving an alert from a NASA satellite about the burst location. Boise State engineering professors Elisa Barney Smith and John Gardner designed the robotic mount for the telescope prototype and developed software to run the system. Boise State undergraduate students also worked on the project.   The project is funded by grants from the NASA Idaho Space Grant Consortium and a number of donors and partners. Several NASA scientists are also involved with the project.   BOISE STATE STUDENTS, FACULTY JOIN RESEARCH EXPEDITION TO SOUTH PACIFIC: Boise State research professors Mitch Lyle and Lee Liberty, along with Boise State graduate geology students Christopher Paul and Brandi Murphy, will spend 41 days aboard a scientific ship in the southernmost reaches of the South Pacific this semester as part of a research project funded by the National Science Foundation. Lyle, a paleoceanographer, will serve as co-chief scientist on the international voyage to survey drill sites beneath the ocean floor for a study of the very warm Eocene period of 34-55 million years ago.   This spring’s voyage will lay the groundwork for future expeditions to drill and analyze sediment cores from deep beneath the ocean floor. The cores contain fossilized remains of plankton and other organisms and provide a continuous record of climate conditions. Scientists are increasingly interested in understanding ancient climate patterns because they offer insights into current climate conditions, including the effects of global warming.   The Boise State students and researchers will live and work with top scientists from around the world on the expedition, part of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program. Their ship, Melville, sets sail from Tahiti on Feb. 9 and heads south to 50 degrees latitude. The crew returns to port on March 21.   BASQUE LANGUAGE CLASS OFFERED FOR FIRST TIME IN A DECADE: The Modern Languages and Literatures Department is offering an elementary Basque class taught at Gowen Field on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. This is the first time in a decade that the language has been taught by BSU. The instructor, Diana Lachiondo, completed an immersion program in the Basque Country at the AEK Basque Language School in Gernika. She previously taught Basque language at the University of Washington Experimental College.   In addition, history professor John Bieter is offering a course looking at the Basque migration to the United States. That class, HIST 381, will be offered Thursday evenings from 6-9 p.m. at the Boise campus.  Pending State Board of Education approval, -more- organizers hope the language class will eventually become part of a four-semester sequence of courses to fulfill a Basque minor. The Basque government has pledged $50,000 per year for three years to help establish the program.   NEW STUDY TARGETS SNOWMOBILE EMISSIONS IN YELLOWSTONE PARK: Dale Stephenson, director of undergraduate environmental health, with graduate student Wendy Campbell, is collaborating with researchers from Montana Tech to study emissions testing in Yellowstone National Park. Stephenson will measure how the use of snowmobiles affects air quality, focusing particular attention on how the gases, vapors and noise affect both park workers and the general public. As snowmobiles move from two-cycle to four-cycle engines, this study will help determine whether or not the change also decreases unwanted emissions. The study is funded by a $35,000 grant from the Park Service.   NEW ENTREPRENEURSHIP CLASS BEGINS: Participants in a new class at Boise State this spring may show up for the class and leave with their own business. MBA 585: Emerging Technology Entrepreneurship will teach students to submit grant applications and link them with some of Idaho’s most successful technology companies and resources from engineering, science, business and law to help them turn their business ideas into reality.       Norris Krueger and Sandy Gough in the College of Business and Economics will teach the course, designed to help further ideas whether they are a new business, product or not-for-profit venture.       NATIONAL WRITING PROJECT ESTABLISHED AT BOISE STATE: English professor Jeffrey Wilhelm has received a $30,000 federal grant to establish a permanent site at Boise State for the National Writing Project. This project will initially offer summer writing workshops for teachers beginning in June 2005. It will later expand to offer year-round workshops to English teachers. Wilhelm directed a similar project at the University of Maine that involved hundreds of teachers and had a significant impact on the teaching of English in the state.   The National Writing Project is an effort to improve writing in America by providing the resources teachers need to help their students, including leadership, programs and research. There are currently more than 180 NWP sites across the country offering summer institutes. In these workshops, teachers present their most effective practices and immerse themselves in writing.   STUDENTS LEARN TO COMPOSE MUSIC ON COMPUTER: A new music course, offered for the first time, teaches computer-based musical composition. Students will be exposed to important works of electronic music and will create their own original  compositions using the techniques learned in class. Topics include digital sound synthesis techniques, analysis-synthesis techniques, granular synthesis techniques and algorithmic composition. -more-   Instructor Ted Apel said the new course will benefit a diverse array of students, including art, computer science, engineering and music majors. “Music students will gain skills applicable in many musical contexts and computer science students will learn a new application for their programming skills,” he said.   FIRST ACADEMIC BUILDING AT BSU-WEST SLATED FOR COMPLETION: The first academic building on the Boise State University-West campus in Nampa will open in June 2005. Construction is nearly complete on the 65,600-square-foot academic building. Plans are under way to offer classes there beginning in the summer session.          The exterior construction of the building is complete on the 150-acre campus north of the Idaho Center off Can-Ada Road. The building includes 14 classrooms, science laboratories, student services, a library, a bookstore and more.          The new campus is being designed to fulfill Boise State University’s Community College mission to meet the needs of a growing number of students in Canyon County and beyond. The number of students enrolled in academic programs at the current Canyon County Center in Nampa doubled between 1999 and 2003 to more than 1,800 students. In addition, students enrolled in adult basic education was up 79 percent.   NEW INTERACTIVE EXHIBITS USED IN GEOLOGY CLASSES: Instead of studying diagrams of fault zones and then answering a list of questions, students enrolled in this semester’s introductory geology classes will activate a plunger on a “Tectonic Squeezebox” filled with layers of sand and clay to create three-dimensional mountains and faults. By slowing the plunger, or modifying the layers of sediment, students can witness how the layers buckle and deform under different conditions. The exercise provides a realistic model, on a very small scale, of mountain-building processes that happen over millions of years on Earth.   This interactive exhibit is part of a new approach to teaching the lab portion of Fundamentals of Geology, a course that enrolls more than 250 Boise State students each semester, said geology professor Karen Viskupic. Instead of holding traditional lab classes, the university is phasing in interactive exhibits that students can use independently. The exhibits have many advantages, added geosciences professor Michelle Stoklosa, including providing students with hands-on learning opportunities.   Other interactive exhibits will include a “GeoWall” that projects three-dimensional views of topographic maps when viewed through 3-D glasses and an exhibit that models how water moves through the subsurface. Long-range plans call for the interactive exhibits to be housed in an Earth Science Exploratorium that would be part of the proposed  Environmental Science and Economic Development building.   NEW MAJOR EXHIBIT FEATURES “STRANGE MATTER”: Boise State University’s College of Engineering will co-host “Strange Matter” Jan. 22-May 1 at The Discovery Center of Idaho. More than a dozen hands-on experiences and exhibits will give Idaho residents a close encounter with the world of materials science.  Participants will explore the behavior of amorphous metals, investigate grain boundaries and explore amazing magnetic liquids. A number of related activities, demonstrations and speaker presentations are also planned that will help participants gain a first-hand understanding of this exciting field.   -30- Editor’s note: More information is available on all of these stories. Here’s who to contact:   CHOLERA VACCINE: Biology professor Juliette Tinker, (208) 426-5472, JulietteTinker@boisestate.edu NEW OBSERVATORY: Physics professor Daryl Macomb, (208) 426-2356, dmacomb@boisestate.edu PACIFIC EXPEDITION: Research professor Mitch Lyle, (208) 426-1167, mlyle@boisestate.edu BASQUE LANGUAGE CLASS: Modern Languages and Literatures department chair Teresa Boucher, (208) 426-3796, tbouche@boisestate.edu ENTREPRENEURSHIP CLASS: Business professors Norris Krueger, (208) 426-3573, nkrueger@boisestate.edu and Sandy Gough, (208) 426-4012, sgough@boisestate.edu WRITING PROJECT: English professor Jeff Wilhelm, (208) 426-1199, jwilhelm@boisestate.edu COMPUTER MUSIC: Music department chair James Cook, (208) 426-1773, jdcook@boisestate.edu BSU-WEST BUILDING: Canyon County Center Director Dennis Griffin, (208) 426-4700, dgriffin@boisestate.edu INTERACTIVE EXHIBITS: Geology professors Karen Viskupic, (208) 426-3658, KarenViskupic@boisestate.edu and Michelle Stoklosa, (208) 426-3645, mstoklos@boisestate.edu MEDIA CONTACT: Janelle Brown, communications and marketing,  (208) 426-1790 jbrown2@boisestate.edu,